BrazosDog02 said:
Sorry to bump this thread, but I was wondering if there is any new feelings about Starlink? I can actually save money and improve my speeds by going to them from my AT&T hotspot. It just doesn't suit out needs reliably.
I had a few questions about starlink:
How long from when you pay $99 and get on the list do you end up with gear and service?
Is it capped or limited on data?
In relation to above, I need this for whole home internet including 4k or at least HD streaming, as I am killing my expensive Dish Network for streaming services if I can. Will this be a viable option?
How is it in reliability? My Broadband is faster or slower at times with the fastest usually being close to 50mb and even then, it doesn't SEEM fast when in practice.
What is the 'indoor' gear like? Can I hook my wifi router to it and get more connections for devices?
No one knows when you'll convert to residential once you get on the waiting list. There are still people in Texas who pre-ordered in 2020 that still don't have service. Most people I've seen are waiting 12-18 months.
As of February, you're limited to 1TB of "priority" data on residential. After that, you get bumped down to the best effort/RV priority tier. If you're in a congested cell, you'll likely get single digit speeds during peak hours. You can buy RV/best effort today. No priority data comes with that service. During the day you'd likely be good, but from 4p-11p you'll struggle with speeds. Even on residential, I was seeing 1-3mbps during peak hours several months ago.
You'll go over your 1TB allotment if you intend to cut the cord. I use 1.5-2TB a month with 1-2 streams running most of the day. Usage from 11p-7a doesn't count against you. I try to schedule big downloads during those times.
Speeds are very variable. One minute you may see 100mbps and 20 sec later it's 20mbps. I also lose signal in rain. It's bad enough I have a failover LTE device so I can keep working. I haven't had too many non-weather related outages outside of the global outage last month.
SL's router is terrible. You can buy an ethernet adapter for it that costs $25. SL lets you put the router in bypass mode and you can run your own router behind it. You could also get something like Dishypowa that lets you completely remove the SL router.
I just ran a speed test. This is one of the better ones I've seen lately.